Fixed - Default gateway unavailable error - Windows 8 - WiFi problem

After struggling with re-occurring errors on my Acer Aspire E1-571 laptop I may have finally found a solution. The troubleshooting process is a little unclear on whether it's an issue with the wireless adaptor (an Intel Centrino Wireless-N 105 in this case), the modem, or windows itself. The internet seems to have settled on the consensus that it is an issue with Windows 8 as the problem is common across multiple devices and multiple wireless adaptors.

The general solution is to update your driver software. This is accessed through the device manager. However, automatically updating it, once you manage to connect to the internet is unsuccessful as the machine thinks it has the most up to date drivers installed. Instead, it is best to browse from a list of local drivers. This will probably give the option of 2 drivers, one provided by Microsoft and the other provided by your adaptor's manufacturer. Selecting the driver provided by your manufacturer seems to solve the issue.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=67qQIUHNHN4

In steps, do the following:
1) Open Windows Explorer (the folder icon near the start button)
2) Right click on 'This PC' (this should be in the panel on the left of the window that just opened)
3) Select Properties
4) Select Device Manager (this should be in the panel on the left of the window that just opened)
5) Select Network Adaptors
6) Right click on your wireless adaptor (in my case it is listed as "Intel(R) Centrino(R) Wireless N-105")
7) Select Update Driver Software
8) Select Browse My Computer
9) Select Let me pick from a list
10) Select the driver for your device that has been supplied by your adaptor's manufacturer (in my case it is the one that ends with (intel) not (microsoft))


Currently I have had no issues since the original date of posting (July 12th 2014).
If that changes I will update this part of this post.